Teaching Tolerance
Teaching Tolerance:
White privilege, is society catering to the white people. I am an older woman, and I did see this when I was younger. I grew up at a time when the only dolls that were sold were white dolls. There were only white characters on our school text books, (Dick, Jane and Sally), and our boxes of crayons only had one skin tone, and that was beige. “They define racism as “individual-and group-level processes and structures that are implicated in the reproduction of racial inequality.” (Cory Collins, “What is White Privilege, Really? “(2018). I guess that’s just the way it was and I never really thought about it. I was just one of the children living a carefree life. I had such a wonderful, loving childhood with my mother and my grandparents, that I felt rich.
According to Collins, racism is the action of unconsciously crossing the road when you see any person of color, because you believe that because they are different they are dangerous, which Collins states is bias. My family was very poor and I remember that the store clerk used to kept a closer watch because of how I looked, but I chose at a young age, not to let anyone define me. It’s not always easy, but I know who I am in God’s eyes. He defined me as a child He loves.
One of my goals is to teach my students that all students matter in my classroom. I want to teach them that we may all be different, but we will choose to encourage each other, not discourage each other. There will be a zero tolerance in our classroom, as far as bullying students because they are different. I want my students to know that we will be a safe place for everyone. I have lived in New Mexico throughout my childhood, and I am proud to say that we have always had diversity in our state. Every neighborhood was full of Chicano’s, African Americans, whites, all from the same economic status. I am convinced that I am a better person because I don’t feel that any ethnic group was or is now better than any other ethnic group.
Another goal, is to make sure that our class library has books that show these differences in a positive light. I believe that teachers need to be that role model, when it comes to how we are treating these differences. When it comes to reading aloud to the students, choosing books that spark their prior knowledge will invite the students to share not only their differences with each other, but also share their feelings about these differences. I believe that these types of interactions will lead to many teachable moments where teachers show that differences are to be celebrated not feared.